Carlos Alcaraz, qualified for the 3rd round in Madrid: “I decided to play yesterday”

“What were your feelings, especially with regard to the right forearm, during the match you won (6-2, 6-1) against Alexander Shevchenko?
I felt very good. I wasn’t told exactly how the sleeve helped, but my physical therapist told me to put it on, so I obeyed. It was a full match, I surprised myself with the level I showed. I played at a very good level, I hope to continue and play more matches. You know, when you play on clay, you have to spend many hours on the court to be ready for the biggest events.

Have you hit your forehand 100%?
No, no, I hit them softer than usual, but I think it helped me stay relaxed and think more about each shot I was going to take. The first thing I thought about when I entered the field was to stay healthy, to not feel anything in my forearm. That was the most important thing for me. And I was very glad that I didn’t feel anything. After that I was able to increase the intensity on the forehand and that helped a lot.

When did you decide to take the field for your first game?
I came to Madrid not knowing what was going to happen. I added a lot of intensity to the training gradually and yesterday (THURSDAY) against (Daniel) Medvedev, I felt nothing for an hour and a half. I was ready to play.

What are your goals in Madrid?
For now, I’m thinking about getting better and improving every day, being as close as possible to 100% here in Madrid, and we’ll see how it goes in the next few weeks. But the most important thing is to be ready for the next tournament and of course for Roland Garros. »